Chief of the Staff the Cabinet,
with the Field-Marshal's approval, recommended to the Queen the
appointment of Major-General Lord Kitchener, who was still serving as
Sirdar of that Egyptian army with which, stiffened by British troops,
he had destroyed the power of the Mahdi little more than a twelve
month earlier. The decision to make these appointments was notified to
Sir R. Buller, in the telegram quoted below.[249] Sir Redvers, to use
his own words, had "for some time been convinced that it is impossible
for any one man to direct active military operations in two places
distant 1,500 miles from each other."[250]

[Footnote 249: "In Natal and in Cape Colony distinct
operations of very great importance are now in progress. The
prosecution of the campaign in Natal is being carried on
under quite unexpected difficulties, and in the opinion of
Her Majesty's Government it will require your presence and
whole attention. It has been decided by Her Majesty's
Government, under these circumstances, to appoint
Field-Marshal Lord Roberts as Commanding-in-Chief, South
Africa, his Chief of Staff being Lord Kitchener."]

[Footnote 250: See letter from Sir Redvers Buller to
Under-Secretary of State for War, dated 20th December, 1899.]

[Sidenote: Lord Roberts embarks Dec. 23/99.]

Within a few days Lord Roberts nominated the rest of his staff,[251]
and, accompanied by the majority of them, embarked for South Africa on
23rd December, arrangements being made for Lord Kitchener to join him
at Gibraltar.

[Footnote 251: In a telegram dated 21st December, Sir R.
Buller recommended that Lord Roberts should bring out a fresh
Headquarter staff, reporting that there was already a lack of
senior staff officers throughout the theatre of war. His own
Headquarter staff left Cape Town to join him in Natal at the
end of December.]

[Sidenote: Weakness of defence in Cape Colony.]

The fact that it had been decided to send the 5th division to Natal
involved in Cape Colony the resumption of the policy of bluff which
had proved so successful earlier in the war. It was now attended with
greater risk, owing to the spread of disaffection amongst the
sympathisers with the Boer Republics. Three distinct areas in the "old
colony" were already in the actual occupation of the enemy, and had
been anne